Evangelism Every Day

Spotlight

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

 

I remember when I stood at the fork in the road.

I was about to graduate college but needed a job to get married!

Down one road was an opportunity to follow in the example of my dad and do ministry in the church.

Down the other was an opening at a newspaper to pursue a career in journalism.

To investigate, I shadowed a reporter at the Orange County Register.

All he did that day was made phone calls about a child molester.

“Did you ever notice anything suspicious?”

“Are you surprised he would do this?”

As he was asking these same questions over and over again, a question came to my mind:

 

“Do I want to report the bad news or preach the good news?”

 

I was reminded of this recently reading about Spotlight.

Spotlight is the team of investigative journalists for the Boston Globe.

They are famous for exposing the child molestation taking place by Catholic priests and how the church tried to cover it up.

Now they are even more famous because the movie about their investigation won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

I respect reporters like this who expose the evil in our world. I wanted to be one of them. But I am thankful God pointed my spotlight in another direction.

You see, this world is so full of bad news.

Just pick up a newspaper and read the headlines.

You can see the consequences of sin wreaking havoc all across our planet.

Natural disasters. Wars and rumors of wars. Government scandals. Financial corruption. Death. Even hypocrisy within religion. It is all there in black and white.

The 24/7 news cycle becomes a dark cloud hanging over our lives.

The aura of fear keeps us coming back for more news about what’s next.

But is there any good news to report?

What if you picked up a newspaper and the headline read: MAN RISES FROM THE DEAD

The article goes on to say he is offering this “resurrection and life” to everyone who believes in him.

The truth is no matter what the news is reporting, there is nothing more important right now than the gospel of Jesus!

The word gospel means “good news.” Jesus is God who became man to save us. He died for our sins. He rose from the dead to offer us a new life.

The good news of Jesus trumps all other news headlines today!

Not only does the news of the gospel tell us what our problem is, but it also tells us how Jesus solved it!

When I was graduating from college, the Lord sent me down the road of preaching the good news and it has made all the difference.

I don’t know what road specifically the Lord has you on, but I know he wants you to share this good news with your fellow travelers.

Since they aren’t telling the story of Jesus in the news media, it is up to us to report it.

Let’s take the road less traveled.

As the month of March begins and Easter Sunday rapidly approaches, now is the time for good news!

Here’s the headline:

TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION

If you choose to spend your life sharing the good news of Jesus you will not regret it.

I know I don’t.